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I’ve said before that Casablanca is my absolute favorite movie. Well, my friend Jen had never seen it (I know, gasp, the horror). So a few weeks ago I decided I was going to force her to watch it and also make a Moroccan meal to go with the movie. So instead of looking one up online, I turned to the family. My cousin Mike (uncle to miss adorable below) is a trained chef, even if that isn’t what he’s doing for a living right now. So I asked him to send me something to go with my movie watching and he sent me this Moroccan Beef with Cous Cous recipe.

First though, I went to see this little girl earlier in the day, had to get in some snuggles. My mom is holding her here, I love this pose though, we call it Thinking Girl. Look at those LONG legs!

Here is the recipe from Mike with some pictures from me.

Moroccan Beef Cous Cous (yields 4)

1 lb. beef tenderloin (or chuck) – 1 inch cubes

1 spanish onion – chopped

2-3 garlic cloves – minced

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

pinch of saffron (optional)

3-4 white or gold potatoes, peeled and cubed

1-2 large carrots – peeled and cubed

handful of fresh chopped parsley and cilantro

handful of red or green olives (optional)

handful of garbonzo beans (optional)

1/2 or 1 whole preserved lemon (or grated lemon peel)

3 cups of beef stock

Morrocan cous cous (or Israeli if you can’t find it)

Chicken stock

Instructions:

Pat beef dry and season on all sides with salt and pepper, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and saffron (reserve some of spices for vegetables). Add olive oil to large pot and brown the meat on all sides (in batches if needed) on medium-high heat. Remove from pot.

Reduce heat and add a little more olive oil and sweat onions, garlic, and carrots until soft. Add remainder of spices and stir.

Add beef back into pot and add 3 cups of beef stock and cover. Simmer the meat and veggies for about 1 1/2 hours or until beef is fork tender.

Add the potatoes, beans, olives and preserved lemon (or peel), adding broth/water if necessary. Partially cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender and the sauce is reduced until thick (add corn starch slurry to thicken if liquid is being reduced too much).

Add some chopped parsley and cilantro. Season the stew with more spices and salt and pepper if necessary.

During the last part of cooking, follow instructions on cous cous package. Once it is light and fluffy, add cous cous to bowls. Spoon stew over cous cous and garnish with more parsley and cilantro and serve.

A note from Mike: This is a staple of Moroccan cuisine and is usually cooked in a tagine. Since most people do not own a tagine (myself included), a stock pot will suffice just fine. This is tasty on cool night and while watching Casablanca!

So I cooked this up and we watched Casablanca. I’ve seen it like 3 dozen times so my opinion doesn’t count. Jen’s thoughts on it though had to do with the fashion (she loved it), and the drama (a little over the top for her at moments). I hadn’t seen it in a while, but it was as good as I remembered of course. Rick’s speech at the end alone is enough to watch this movie, it has more great statements than almost any other movie. If you’ve still not see it, please go rent it. It’s only about 1.5 hours long, so it won’t exactly take up a bunch of your time. And make this dish, it’s actually really easy and it tastes really good.